Lavender oil

A glass vial of pure essential oil of lavender

Lavender oil is an essential oil obtained by distillation from the flower spikes of certain species of lavender. Two forms are distinguished, lavender flower oil, a colorless oil, insoluble in water, having a density of 0.885g/mL; and lavender spike oil, a distillate from the herb Lavandula latifolia, having density 0.905g/mL. Like all essential oils, it is not a pure compound; it is a complex mixture of naturally occurring phytochemicals, including linalool and linalyl acetate. Kashmir Lavender oil is famous for being produced from lavender at the foothills of the Himalayas. As of 2011, the biggest lavender oil producer in the world is Bulgaria.[1]

Uses

Lavender oil has long been used in the production of perfume.[2]:184–186

In aromatherapy lavender oil produces a significant decrement in performance of working memory and impaired reaction times for both memory and attention based tasks compared to controls.[3]

Oil of spike lavender was used as a solvent in oil painting, mainly before the use of distilled turpentine became common.[4]

There are case reports of topical lavender oil administration producing prepubertalgynecomastia.[15][16]In vitro assessment with human cell lines found that lavender oil has estrogenic and antiandrogenic effects,[15] though an in vivo study with rats found no evidence of estrogenic activity at the doses assayed.[17] A small clinical study found that topical lavender oil in the form of an oil spray was effective in the treatment of young women with mild idiopathic hirsutism.[18]